The council has budgeted $360,000 to host the two-day event. It has estimated it will cost $80,000 in airfares, $24,000 in accommodation, $30,000 for a venue, $40,000 to pay speakers and another $40,000 to manage communications.

It is budgeting $70,000 to pay a co-ordinator for six months, $30,000 to put on breakfast and $35,000 for a one-day public forum. The council expects to recover some of these costs from other workshop partners.

The stated objectives of the workshop are to:

Bring together leading C40 cities that are building sustainable communities to explore and share approaches, learnings and challenges and develop a blueprint for achieving a sustainable community;

Involve key private sector representatives (eg developers, infrastructure owners and managers, smart technology providers), relevant government bodies, industry associations (e.g. Green Building Council of Australia) and community representatives in Australia to learn from international approaches and share and engage in Melbourne/Australia’s experience and challenges;

Raise the profile of Melbourne City Council’s Eco-City goals; and

Share the outcome of the workshop with the broader Australian stakeholders (other non-C40 cities, sustainability experts etc).